Store apparatus



C. KILMER.

STORE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1920.

1,382,092. Patented June 21, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET C/z arZes 1 5117117 e1 C. KILIVIER.

STORE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 311520.

r m mm mm M7 Lm 55 K1, nm 8 2 CH 7 Z 2 0 6 9w 1 z UNITED STATES CHARLESKILMER, 0F TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

STORE APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 21, 1921.

Application filed. July 3, 1920. Serial No. 393,868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CHAnLns KILMER, a citizen of the United States,residin at Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and btate of Washington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Store Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive andattractive article of store furniture by the use of which goods whichare sold in uniform packages may be conveniently displayed anddispensed. The invention seeks further to provide an apparatus for thestated purpose in which the goods will be delivered at the bottom of acolumn so that the goods first put in the display compartments will bethe first to be withdrawn and deterioration of the goods will beavoided. Other incidental objects of the invention will appear in thecourse of the following description and the invention resides in certainnovel features which will be particularly pointed out in the claimsfollowing the description. I

In the accompanying drawings 7 Figure 1 is a perspective View of anapparatus embodying my invention, some of the vending compartments beingshown empty while others are shown as filled with goods to be sold;

F ig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section substantially on the line 22 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a base 1 which may be of anydesired material and of any preferred form and is intended to be placedupon a counter or other fixed support so that the merchandise will bereadily accessible. Within this base, T rigidly secure in any desiredmanner a post 2 which will preferably be constructed of tubing, asindicated in Fig. 2, and upon the upper end of this post I secure acollar or ring 3 provided with a closed top 1 having an annular raceway5 in its upper side to receive anti-friction balls 6. The merchandiseholder comprises a frame consisting of an upper plate 7, a lower plate 8and vertically disposed braces 9 secured rigidly to and extendingbetween the said plates. The lower plate 8 is provided with a centralopening 10 whereby it may fit around the post 2, while the upper plate 71s intended to extend. across the upper end of the post and rest uponthe anti-friction balls 6, as clearly shown, a retaining screw or headedpin 11 being inserted through a central opening 12 in the said plate andsecured in the top 4 whereby the frame will be rotatably supported uponand about the post. The plates 7 and 8 as well as the braces 9 arepreferably constructed of sheet metal so as to be strong withoutexcessive weight and the plates are preferably angular in outline sothat the straight edge portions 13 will be presented against which thedisplay compartments or merchandise holders 14 may rest and be heldagainst turning. Adjacent each straight edge portion 13 of each plate 7and 8, a slot 15 is formed in the plate parallel with the adjacentstraight edge portion of the plate. The holders for the goods arepreferably stamped from sheet metal and comprise each a back wall 16 ofsuch dimensions that it will bear against one straight edge portion ofeach plate. Near the upper end of the said back wall and above the lowerend thereof, tongues 17 are struck therefrom and these tongues are bentupon themselves so as to extend downwardly substantially parallel withthe wall 16 so that they may be engaged through the respective slots 15,as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, and thereby support the displaycompartment upon the plates 7 and 8. The side walls 18 of eachcompartment or vending holder are formed by bending forwardly thelongitudinal edge portions of the blank from which the back wall 16 isformed and the extreme forward edges of the side walls are bent inwardlyto provide retaining flanges 19, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. As shownmost clearly in Fig. 1, the retaining flanges 19 terminate short of thelower ends of the side walls and a space, indicated at 20, is thusprovided through which a package may be withdrawn. The back wall 16 iscut away at its lower end to produce an opening 21 through which thefingers of the salesman or other person may be brought against the rearside of a package supported at the bottom of the column and to provide asup-- port for said package, the lower extremities of the back wall ateach side of the opening 21 are bent forwardly to provide ledges orrests 22 upon which the ends of the package will bear as will be readilyunderstood on reference to Fig. 2. It is intended that each compartmentor vending holder shall contain two columns of packages as will bereadily understood upon reference to Fig. 2 and to separate thesecolumns a guiding rib 23 is provided on the innerface of each side wallof the compartment. These ribs may be easily formed by makinglongitudinal incisions in the walls 18 and then striking inwardly themetal defined by the incisions as will be readily understood onreference to Figs. 2 and 3. The ribs 23 terminate short of the retainingribs 19 at their lower ends so that the lowermost package of the rearcolumn of oods may be withdrawn readily when the entire front column ofgoods has been sold. The lowermost package of the inner or rear columnof goods is supported above the lowest package of the front column sothat the fingers of the salesman or other person may readily pass underthe rear column and engage the lowest package of the front column and toaccomplish this end supplemental supports or stops are provided in theform of tongues 24L struck from the rear wall 16 adjacent each end walland extending forwardly and downwardly toward the ledges22, as clearlyshown. The tongues 24 are so shaped as to present a slight shoulder 25immediately adjacent the back wall of sufficient area to support thepackages but not so large that they'will interfere with the readyremoval of a package. It will also be noted upon reference to 2 that thelower ends of the retaining ribs 19 are spaced from the ledges 22 adistance slightly less than the width of the package so that the lowestpackage will be prevented from falling through the open front side ofthe container. While T. have shown the display compartments in theaccompanying drawings as open, it will be understood, of course, thatcovers may be fitted therein to prevent unwarranted extraction ofpackages through the top of the compartment, but such covers are notindispensable inasmuch a's-a bracing band 26 is secured across the frontside of the compartment at the top of the same to pre vent spreading ofthe side walls and the presence of this band makes it exceedinglydifficult to obtain a hold upon the upper package sufiiciently. firm towithdraw the same. To further guard against spreading of the side walls18, a brace band 27 is secured across the front of the compartment atabout the vertical center: of the same.

It is thought the use and advantages of the device will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings. The device is illustrated as arranged for thevending of packages of chewing gum but by varying the dimensions of theparts the compartments may be adapted to display and facilitate thevending of cigarettes or any other goods which. are sold inuniform'packages. The display compartments are filled through their topsor upper ends, the packages being placed sidewise therethrough andpermitted to drop to the bottoms of the respective compartments as willbe readily understood upon reference to Fig. 2. When a package has beensold, the salesman inserts a finger back of the package through theopening 21 of the proper compartment and exerts a slight pressure uponthe lowest package which causes it to partly rotate about its ownlongitudinal axis so that its lower edge will pass from the ledges 22,its upper edge being thereby drawn under the terminals of the retainingribs 19. As the package is withdrawn the packages superposed above thesame will gravitate to the bottom of the compartment and the next sale.will be followed by delivery of a package which was previously above thelower ends of the ribs 19. When all the packages of the front or outercolumn have been sold, the packages in the inner or rear column may bewithdrawn in the same manner, the lowest package in the column passingreadily through the open front side of the compartment after pressure ofthe lingers has been exerted thereon to bring it clear of the shoulders25.

The device may be readily produced at a low cost and will be effectualas an advertising medium inasmuch as the goods will be displayed in anattractive manner and a large quantity of the goods may be arranged in asmall compass in such a manner that ready access may be had thereto whendesired to complete a sale. The several vending compartments may befilled in a stock room and then placed in position upon the plates 7 and8 inasmuch as they are supported thereon merely by the engagement of thehooks or tongues 17 through the slots 15 of the plates and anyparticular compartment may be brought into position to deliver the goodstherein by merely rotating the entire device about the centralsupporting post 2. The vending compartments or display holders areduplicates in construction so that they may he used interchangeably andif, through any accident or other cause, any one compartment should beso damaged as to be no longer useful a new compartment or display holdermay be substituted therefor without requiring the provision of an entirenew apparatus. lVhile the packages may be readily withdrawn by thesalesman or the customer when directed by the salesman, scattering ofthe packages hrough careless handling and consequent loss of goodscannot occur inasmuch as only one package maybe withdrawn at a. time andthe sightliness of the goods displayed is thus prolonged so that thereis no decrease in the salability of the goods displayed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a supporting frame,and a display compartment carried by said frame and having an open frontside and provided with means at its lower end for supporting columns ofpackages, one in front of another with the lowest package in one columnin stepped relation to the lowest package in another column.

2. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a supporting frame,a display holder carried by said frame, means at the lower end of theholder for supporting a plurality of columns of packages one in front ofanother with the lowest package in one column in stepped relation to thelowest package in another column, and means for retaining the packagesin each column in superposed relation, said means terminating short ofthe lower ends of the respective columns whereby the lowest package in acolumn may be withdrawn, the holder being provided in. its back wall atits lower end with a notch to permit access to the bottom packages inall the columns.

8. A display holder comprising back and end walls, the lower end of theback wall being centrally cut away, ledges extending from the back wallimmediately adjacent the end walls, supports projecting from the backwall between the end walls above the said ledges and extendingdownwardly to the ledges, and means on the end walls to retain thepackages in superposed relation and permit the lowest package to bewithdrawn through the front of the display holder.

4. A display holder comprising a. back wall, end walls, spaced retainingribs eX- tending longitudinally on the end walls and terminating instepped relation short of the lower ends thereof, ledges projectingforwardly from the back wall immediately adjacent the end walls, andtongues projecting forwardly from the back wall above said ledges andextending downwardly to the ledges.

5. A display holder comprising a back wall, end walls projectingtherefrom, vertical retaining ribs on the end walls at the front edgesthereof and at points intermediate their edges, said ribs terminating instepped relation above the lower ends of the end walls, and spacedsupports projecting from the back walls to support columns of articlesin rear of the respective retaining ribs.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature;

ormnrns KILMER. 1 s.]

